These were the locations pushing and pulling me as various forms of transport took me towards a reunion with my niece and her son in Cappadocia, Turkey, this week.
After crossing the border at Sarai, just past Batumi, I had a long minibus run along the Black Sea coast. Nothing too dramatic there: The sea was calm, the weather sunny but not yet too hot. All the way to Trabzond. Its monastery will have to wait for a special trip; I had a lot farther to go yet.
We began heading south while also continuing west, and the landscape began to reveal more of itself. This was definitely Vardzia country, in a long rocky valley very much reminiscent of that famous Georgian cave city and its surroundings. The highways in Turkey never fail to impress me, and this one was no exception; I look forward to seeing the full opening of Georgia’s own 60km Rikoti Pass engineering marvel this autumn, as planned. No more bottlenecks, please.
I couldn’t make it all the way to Cappadocia without arriving after midnight, so I spent a comfortable night in a Ramada hotel in Sivas, capital of the former Armenian part of what is now Turkey. Again, I could have found much of interest here to discover, but couldn’t let it distract me. There was a bigger goal coming closer.
Finally, to Goreme, in the heart of Cappadocia, in time to knock on my relatives’ hotel door and have lunch together. Since then it’s been a whirlwind of exploring this fascinating sculpture of a landscape together with them, whom I haven’t seen for nearly five years. The young man is just about to graduate from high school, and this could be seen as part of his less formal but no less important education.
We took a horse ride in a small group up to a wonderful viewpoint overlooking all the spectacular sandstone formations and “fairy chimneys” the region is famous for. On the horse, I instantly discovered that, even while just walking, it was impossible to use the long lens I had on my camera. So I had to swap lenses while in motion; but I have done this before, so there were no mishaps with dropping any precious gear. I stuck to recording some videos with my phone instead, until we dismounted at the viewpoint.
It hardly felt like we were still on earth. This landscape is simply unique. I had already seen it at sunrise, by hot air balloon, a few years ago; but then there wasn’t enough time to just walk, stop, look, live among these rock marvels for a few days.
We have also gone on a day tour, which included a river valley walk; a 12th century church and next to it a linseed oil pressing factory of similar age; stops at a jewelry production showcasing the new gemstone sultanate which changes its color under different lights and is only found in one location in Turkey, nowhere else on earth; a leather fashion show and shop where I finally found a belt which actually fits me; and a spice bazaar full of Turkish deliciousnesses. The tour agency felizturismo.com, and its excellent host, Huseyn, did a superb job of keeping us interested with his great knowledge of our surroundings.
Today, more of a rest day after all that activity, although I do plan to return to nearby Ortahisar and its little Church of St. Nino, this time to video the place. Apparently Georgia’s most famous saint, who brought Christianity to the royal family in Mtskheta early in the 4th century, was born here, as I have written before.
Balloon rides have more than doubled in price since my wife and I paid $100 each for the pleasure; and it’s not yet clear whether wind conditions will allow flights while we are here, a day-to-day announcement which can change quickly. Even seeing the whole crowd of the things rising from the ground, this time, will be enough. My last set of photos from the initial flight gives up to 80 of them together in a few different frames, really quite a show.
Most important of all, however, has been these days catching up with family post-Covid. We treasure these times together, in this increasingly uncertain world. Georgia’s own dramatic news of the last few days, I have only been able to watch from this distance.
Next stop: Meeting my wife in Amsterdam. From three dimensions down to almost two…but much there to see, too.
Tony Hanmer has lived in Georgia since 1999, in Svaneti since 2007, and been a weekly writer and photographer for GT since early 2011. He runs the “Svaneti Renaissance” Facebook group, now with over 2000 members, at www.facebook.com/groups/SvanetiRenaissance/
He and his wife also run their own guest house in Etseri: www.facebook.com/hanmer.house.svaneti
Blog by Tony Hanmer
